It is well known to provide housings for electrical connectors to which a plurality of wires are terminated. Such housings typically include an opening through which the wires, or a cable comprising such wires, passes and where a strain relief member clamps the wires or cable to prevent the wires from being pulled loose from the connector. Some such housings are made of metal to help shield the conductors and the connector from electromagnetic interference (EMI).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,780 of Bertini et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,761,145 of Goto et al. describe electrical connector housings that can be configured to allow a cable to extend from the connector in one of two different directions-straight or angled. The housings have a clamshell structure, with opposing sections joined together over the connector and secured together about their peripheries by several screws. The connectors are configured to allow a cable to pass through one of two possible openings in the housing. In each connector housing, a strain relief clamp is slidably mounted to bear against a side of the cable and clamp the cable against an opposing side surface of the opening. The other (unused) of the two openings is covered by a plug or plate. The connector housings of Bertini et al. and Goto et al. are expensive to manufacture and assemble because they have a large number of components—many of which are small and difficult to manipulate. The number of parts can also lead to increased problems with EMI, due to gaps and irregularities in various parts of the housing.
The present inventor has recognized a need for an improved electrical connector assembly with a housing that can be easily reconfigured between multiple cable exit paths and the desirability for such a housing to have good EMI shielding properties.